WBC Light Heavyweight champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (29-1-1, 24 KOs) defends his title against Oleksandr Gvozdyk (15-0, at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada on Saturday night, December 1, 2018.
This championship fight will be on Showtime starting at 7:45 pm, EST leading into the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury Showtime PPV card.
Read on for a full preview and prediction for the Adonis Stevenson vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight.
MAIN STORYLINES
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Adonis Stevenson is the longest tenured champion in the division, and in all of boxing as he has had the WBC Light Heavyweight title for five years.
Stevenson hasn’t been a great champion due to lack of activity, as well as the level of competition he has faced in what was always a competitive division. This fight can change that narrative and may lead to a unification fight with the new champions and faces of the division.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk has quickly risen to the top of his division, similarly to other great Ukrainian fighters like Vasiliy Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs), Aleksandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) and Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs).
This will be Gvozdyk’s biggest fight of his young career, and we will know if the hype is real or is Gvozdyk is a pretender.
STRENGTHS FOR EACH FIGHTER
Adonis Stevenson
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Adonis Stevenson’s strengths are his experience, power and chin.
Stevenson has tremendous power in his left hand, and has knocked out, or knocked down everyone in his path. He is a powerful southpaw, with one-punch KO power that can stop anyone in the division.
Stevenson is 41 years old and has been a WBC champion for five years. With 31 professional fights and 143 rounds boxed, Stevenson has plenty of experience in the ring, and in championship fights.
Stevenson has one of the best chins in boxing and hasn’t been knocked down since 2014.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
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Oleksandr Gvozdyk’s strengths are his boxing ability, power, and defense.
Gvozdyk is a technician in the ring, he has great footwork and a high ring IQ. He is athletic and fast on his feet, helping catch his opponents at the right angles for his offense.
Gvozdyk would be considered a boxer-puncher, but he without a doubt has sneaky power in him. With 12 of his 15 wins via KO, Gvozdyk is a puncher Stevenson will need to respect.
Gvozdyk has great defense due to his boxing ability and athleticism. He isn’t easy to hit and turns his defense into offense making it hard to game plan for his style.
WEAKNESSES FOR EACH FIGHTER
Adonis Stevenson
Adonis Stevenson’s inactivity, power and lack of volume punching are his weaknesses. Stevenson will fight twice in 18′, fought once in 17′, and once in 16′.
That, along with the level of opponent outside of Badou Jack, isn’t good enough and won’t help him in this fight.
Stevenson’s power is both a strength and weakness. He relies solely on his one-punch power and will look for the KO punch all night. This is the reason he isn’t a volume puncher, and will be a problem if he tries to sit back and box Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
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Oleksandr Gvozdyk doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses but can improve on his ability to finish fights and take advantage of hurt fighters.
Gvozdyk’s lack of experience against top-level competition is a flaw. He hasn’t fought the best of the best just yet, but this will be his first test. The world will know if Gvozdyk is on the same level as the Light Heavyweight champions.
Gvozdyk has been knocked down before but got off the canvas to win the fight.
THE WINNER AND WHY
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Oleksandr Gvozdyk will end the reign of Adonis “Superman” Stevenson on Saturday night, December 1, and leave as the new WBC Light Heavyweight champion.
Gvozdyk needs to have the right gameplan, and execute accordingly to pull off the upset.
He will outbox Stevenson for 12 rounds and win a decision.
